Snap-on medallions



Sept. 23, 1969 r. G. KELLER ET 3,468,045

SNAP-ON MEDALLIONS Filed Sept. 12. 1966 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,468,045 SNAP-ON MEDALLIONS Ted G. Keller, New York, N.Y., and William Stelzer,

Bloomfield Hills, Mich., assignors to Stoffel Seals Corporation, Tuckahoe, N.Y.

Filed Sept. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 578,799 Int. Cl. A44c 3/00; A44b 1/04, N14

US. Cl. 40-15 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to medallions and method of making the same, and more particularly to snap-on medallions adapted to be attached to buttons of garments on display for sale, the medallions serving as a mark of craftsmanship or quality of material of such garments.

The object of the invention is to construct a medallion that can be easily attached to a button of a garment and can be eadily removed by the purchaser.

Another object is to provide a plurality of elastic prongs on the backside of the medallion to grip a button.

A further object is to use a two part medallion consisting of a molded body and a cardboard insert serving as the face of the medallion secured to the body, Where the body is molded into a shape into which the cardboard can be snapped so as to be held firmly in place.

A further object is to improve the method of making the novel medallion consisting of first molding the body in a conventional manner of a thermoplastic and then reforming while still soft to bend over the prongs for holding a button and to reform the rim to move firmly grip the cardboard insert.

Yet another object is to assemble the cardboard insert to the plastic body when the latter is still soft, immediately after molding, so that the rim of the body shrinks while cooling off in a manner to more firmly grip the insert.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by inspection of the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view of the back of the improved medallion incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2, a section on lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, a view of the face of a two-part medallion showing a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 4, a section taken on lines 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5, a section taken on lines 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6, a view of the reverse side of the two-part medallion; and

FIG. 7, a face view of the cardboard insert.

Describing the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the body 1 made of thermoplastic material has a face 2 carrying the mark of the article to which the medallion is to be attached; the back of the body has a plurality of prongs 3 bent over slightly towards the center of the body to form pockets 4 into which a button can be Patented Sept. 23, 1969 snapped. Dies for molding such a shape are very expensive and complicated. It is part of this invention to use the novel method to bend the prongs 3 inwardly immediately after molding and before the thermoplastic has had time to cool off, to form pockets 4 as shown. Conventional tools may be used for bending. The prongs 3 are proportioned in their thickness to provide suflicient elasticity so that the button of the garment can be snapped into place or removed with little force, yet be held securely so as not to fall off. The rim 5 is purely ornamental, and so of course is the general shape of the body bearing the mark. Thus the outline of the body and the mark itself may be varied to suit a particular application. Grooves 3 at the tips of prongs 3 may be added for greater resiliency.

Referring now to the modification shown in FIGS. 3-7, a body 10 comprises a rim 11, a central or main body portion 12, and a pair of prongs 13. An insert 14 of cardboard or other sheet material forms part of the face of the medallion and has the mark or other inscription printed on it. -It also serves to cover up a central hole 15 and a pair of lateral holes 16 in the main body portion. These holes are an important part of the invention as they make it possible to mold the body in the shape shown without additional rework and with a relatively simple and conventional die where parting is no problem. The lateral holes 16 permit the molding of the recesses or catches 17 which serve to retain the insert 14 when the latter is snapped into place, where rim 11 serves as a frame for the insert. The extensions 18 of the insert are then located under the catches 17, so as to be held in place securely. The insert 14 can also be assembled immediately after molding when the body 10 is still hot, then cooling off to let the rim shrink over the insert at 20.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 part of the insert is shown broken 0E in order to better show the construction of the body. In FIG. 5 the dotted lines 19 show the position of a button snapped into place.

It is apparent that the invention may have different applications and may take different forms without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the mark on the face of the medallion may include advertising or identification.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A medallion having a main body portion of thermoplastic material, said main body portion comprising a rim and a plurality of prongs extending from the back of said body portion, said prongs being curved to form pockets to be adapted for gripping a garment button, said main body portion having an opening adjacent each prong to facilitate molding of the main body portion to form said pocket, an insert of sheet material adapted to carry a mark, a plurality of recesses in said rim for retention of said insert, and a plurality of openings in said main body portion adjacent to said recesses to facilitate the molding of said body portion to provide said recesses.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 7/ 1935 Great Britain. 2/1951 Great Britain. 

